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Fish Oil

Discussion in 'Treats & Supplements' started by Kelsey, Feb 2, 2016.

  1. Kelsey

    Kelsey Forums Regular

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    I've been reading posts on here about fish oil but also want to know if anyone has had any success with using it for itchy skin. Also, does brand really matter? I've seen so many varied responses about what kind of fish oil. I had been giving my sheltie coconut oil to help with dermatitis, but he's still itchy. I'm assuming it should be one or the other- coconut oil OR fish oil, not both. Anyway, just looking for some basic fish oil advice and success stories, as I'm trying to be proactive about my dog's skin.
     
  2. tesslynn

    tesslynn Forums Enthusiast

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    If it is the diet, might be food sensitivity...like grains, or poultry. I learned the hard way on my 1st sheltie that she couldn't tolerate chicken. She broke out unmercifully if she had chicken. Probably not the chicken so much as what was given to the chicken. I have become fanatical about WHAT is IN food that they aren't disclosing, because I have such bad allergies. If I stick to "pure" foods, I don't suffer at all. Brands can very on everything, I would recommend going for the least processed, most organic choice possible.
     
  3. Chris

    Chris Premium Member

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  4. Kelsey

    Kelsey Forums Regular

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    The Ideal Balance dog food that I'm looking into does not have corn, wheat, or soy. As for the poultry, though, most of their blends have chicken unless it's the salmon (with sweet potatoes) or lamb (and brown rice). The salmon and lamb are the only other alternatives I've seen...
     
  5. Kelsey

    Kelsey Forums Regular

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  6. tesslynn

    tesslynn Forums Enthusiast

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    do you know about this site?

    http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-reviews/hills-science-diet-ideal-balance/
     
  7. k9kreationz

    k9kreationz Forums Celebrity

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    In regards to fish oil, I gave my friend this fish oil from Costco for his dog who had itchy dry skin. His coat was shiny and beautiful and no more itching...and friend feeds crappy food (the kind you can get at a grocery store, sorry, no offense to anyone).

    I had purchased that specific one for my K/D (kidney disease) dog specifically for the high levels of DHA/EPA (which for my reasons, was what mattered). Not sure how much that matters for itchyness.

    So, assuming your dog has itchy skin and it's not an allergy, then that should help. I know my dog (same one who had K/D) had itchy skin/allergies all his life until I put him on grain-free. Once I did that, whoa, scratching went away. I was surprised (then, not anymore, haha). I had tried the whole, no chicken, no potatoes, etc, but nothing worked until I went GF. Didn't matter if it was chicken either. Just an FYI.

    Good luck. If you have Costco, it's a great pill. If not, well, this won't do you any good since it's a Costco brand. But honestly, I'd still look for higher concentrations of DHA/EPA. I'd say Chris's option is a good one for dogs that won't swallow huge horse pills. Wish I knew about that, haha. I hated popping the pills for my dog. It's gross when it gets on you, ew, smell like fish all day.
     
  8. Kelsey

    Kelsey Forums Regular

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  9. Kelsey

    Kelsey Forums Regular

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    We do have a Costco! :biggrin2: As for the grains... My goodness. Blue Buffalo is not grain-free and for some reason I thought it was. Boo. Well, I continue to consider other options, and now I'll be sure to add grain-free to my list.
     
  10. Kelsey

    Kelsey Forums Regular

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    Well, I've been giving Henry fish oil for three weeks now (the Costco brand, 1200 mgs), and it is making his coat look extra nice, but I don't know that it's doing much for his skin (I've read that fish oil can take several weeks to work so maybe I need to give it more time). He's still itchy, patchy, and flaky. :confused2:
     

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